I've been an utter fiend for TV Tropes for, oh, donkey's years (don't ask: it's an Englishism that's never been explained to me... probably something to do with Animal Farm). Since I'm kinda pooped from IC threads for now, I thought I'd try my hand at the inevitable: Konrad's own TV Tropes entry page!
Character Development: Currently undergoing a shyketon during his stay in Endrykas, attached to the Pridesun Pavilion. With no hoodlums or Dynasts to secure his services as a killer, Konrad has been forced to learn the Drykas ways of hunting, trapping, camping, cooking, and generally living off the land. To his great surprise, he actually quite enjoys it, but remains "restless" and drawn back to violence.
Bounty Hunter: On occasion, back in Sunberth, hunting down runaway slaves and any other fugitive for whatever reason. He'll most likely pick up this trade anywhere else he stays for a while, either as a main career or a side business.
Combat Pragmatist: As befits both his unfettered nature and Sunberth upbringing, Konrad never, ever fights fair. Furthermore, he seems to show nothing but contempt for people that do.
Dark And Troubled Past: Suffice to say, Konrad had a shitty childhood and then some. Both his parents were negligent, substance-abusing addicts, although his mother showed him more affection than his drunken Myrian father. When he was ten, his father ended up killing his mother in a rage and scarring him for life. After that, he lived in the streets and found out that loyalty, trust, honor and friendship meant jack-shit in Sunberth. His whole backstory hasn't been revealed, but it's pretty obvious he had to do terrible things from a very young age, just to survive.
Even Evil Has Standards: Or at least one, anyway. If Konrad feels like he owes you his life, he'll make good on his debt. Zigzagged in that once he decides he's made it up, you're back to square one and he'll see you as fair game again.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: His upper lip and cheek is deformed thanks to his drunken father slashing his face with a knife when he was a boy.
Heel-Face Door Slam: Konrad's last chance for a somewhat normal life was with his maternal grandmother and his cousin. He ended up living with them after years as a killer, with her convincing him to go straight. He was planning to leave for Zeltiva with them, knowing that Sunberth would eventually pull him back into the killing business. It did... when home invaders butchered them both just after Konrad won enough money for them to leave. Whatever hope he had to be a better man died with them, and he's not looked back since.
Hypocrite: A eagerly-improving Reimancer and Morpher who hates and distrusts "mages". Somewhat Deconstructed, as it's the power Konrad wants out of his djed-wielding; actually being a wizard, one who studies and reveres magic and its lore, holds no interest for him.
Jerkass: Mizahar has plenty of anti-heroic and even villainous characters, but Konrad can be so rude that it's hard not to instantly dislike him.
Knife Nut: Konrad has four blades on him on a normal day. Even his oldest associate Three Eyes didn't know how many he really has.
Lack Of Empathy: One of the reasons that Konrad is so good at killing is that he simply doesn't see people as, well, people. Whatever kinship for his fellow man he ever had was beaten out of him long before he was even a teenager.
Moral Event Horizon: If he didn't cross it before, he damn sure did when he hurled a screaming infant off a building just to psychologically scar a partner who tried to stop him from killing the infant's mother.
Neutral Evil: To the point he even has a link for this alignment in his Character Sheet. Konrad is motivated by his own survival and prosperity, and doesn't care what methods he has to employ to ensure these two things.
Nice Hat: Say what you want about his morals or his actions (if you can stomach learning about them), but you have to admit, that's one damn fine hat.
Obviously Evil: The all-black outfit, the hideous facial scars, the steely gaze and animal rasp... yep, you're not gonna mistake Konrad for a Syliran Knight anytime soon.
Only In It For The Money: If you want Konrad to aid you ("help" would be too strong a word), make it worth his while in hard currency. Offering or appealing to anything else will get your ignored at best, and betrayed at worst, as soon as a better offer comes along.
Playing with Fire: Konrad's primary use of Reimancy is as a weapon, torching his enemies from a distance. Zigzagged in that he is not yet skilled enough to summon djed quickly enough, and relies on his more corporeal combat skills.
Private Military Contractors: Works almost exclusively as a sellsword when he's not slaving, since he's had bad experiences throwing in his lot and loyalty with just one employer. However, given his nature and reputation, more often than not he's at the darker end of this spectrum.
Psycho For Hire: Played with. He is a sociopath, but he's not a blood-crazed berzerker who lives only to fight and kill. Konrad's about the money, and you can't enjoy that if you're dead. That said, his brutality is well-known even in a hive like Sunberth, and his loyalties are purely to the man with the biggest purse.
Rage Against The Heavens: Konrad certainly has a mild case of this. The few insights we've had into his opinions regarding the gods certainly show he doesn't worship any of them and in fact is rather scornful of them. Most likely relating to how petched up his childhood was and how they could allow a place like Sunberth - where such abuse and trauma is a daily occurrence - to even exist.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Goes on a particularly horrific one after his grandfather and cousin are murdered in a robbery, fifteen years in the past. He kills over a dozen people in the aftermath, including a couple who were only tangentially connected to the people responsible, such as the fence who bought his grandmother's stolen goods and the information broker who pointed him in the culprits' direction.
Shout Out: To Bronn, from Game of Thrones. Definitely not as affable as the Westerosi, but easily as ruthless and amoral. Both are pragmatic sellswords who are concerned solely with their own success, and Konrad does occasionally reveal a similar "black sense of humor".
The Sociopath: Played with but very, very narrowly subverted. Konrad sees everyone around him as one of three things: assets to be used (until they're no longer useful), obstacles to be overcome or eliminated, or amusements to be enjoyed in a shallow, momentary manner. Connecting to others on an emotional level is very difficult to him, although it is faintly possible. Problem is, given what he does for a living, what he looks like and how he treats others, hardly anyone ever gets that chance.
Son of a Whore: Subverted - given who and what he is, most people assume this is what Konrad's mother was. In point of fact, she was a fishwife... and a drug addict, but that's beside the point.
Torture Technician: Seems to be one of his skillsets, although he's much more about the "inflicting unholy pain" rather than "extracting important information". Which will probably surprise no-one.
The Unfettered: Goes along with his lack of empathy and sociopathic nature. There is nothing he won't do to get what he wants, as long as he can do it and can get away with it. The morality of his actions never cross his mind.
Character Development: Currently undergoing a shyketon during his stay in Endrykas, attached to the Pridesun Pavilion. With no hoodlums or Dynasts to secure his services as a killer, Konrad has been forced to learn the Drykas ways of hunting, trapping, camping, cooking, and generally living off the land. To his great surprise, he actually quite enjoys it, but remains "restless" and drawn back to violence.
Bounty Hunter: On occasion, back in Sunberth, hunting down runaway slaves and any other fugitive for whatever reason. He'll most likely pick up this trade anywhere else he stays for a while, either as a main career or a side business.
Combat Pragmatist: As befits both his unfettered nature and Sunberth upbringing, Konrad never, ever fights fair. Furthermore, he seems to show nothing but contempt for people that do.
Dark And Troubled Past: Suffice to say, Konrad had a shitty childhood and then some. Both his parents were negligent, substance-abusing addicts, although his mother showed him more affection than his drunken Myrian father. When he was ten, his father ended up killing his mother in a rage and scarring him for life. After that, he lived in the streets and found out that loyalty, trust, honor and friendship meant jack-shit in Sunberth. His whole backstory hasn't been revealed, but it's pretty obvious he had to do terrible things from a very young age, just to survive.
Even Evil Has Standards: Or at least one, anyway. If Konrad feels like he owes you his life, he'll make good on his debt. Zigzagged in that once he decides he's made it up, you're back to square one and he'll see you as fair game again.
- Looks like this might be ultimately subverted, if his thoughts to betray on Jonas Pridesun are anything to go by. Then again, as far as Konrad is concerned, Jonas should have just given him the chance to break even and been satisfied with that. Basically threatening him with exposure and a long, unwelcome position as his personal assassin did not sit well with Konrad...
Good Scars, Evil Scars: His upper lip and cheek is deformed thanks to his drunken father slashing his face with a knife when he was a boy.
Heel-Face Door Slam: Konrad's last chance for a somewhat normal life was with his maternal grandmother and his cousin. He ended up living with them after years as a killer, with her convincing him to go straight. He was planning to leave for Zeltiva with them, knowing that Sunberth would eventually pull him back into the killing business. It did... when home invaders butchered them both just after Konrad won enough money for them to leave. Whatever hope he had to be a better man died with them, and he's not looked back since.
Hypocrite: A eagerly-improving Reimancer and Morpher who hates and distrusts "mages". Somewhat Deconstructed, as it's the power Konrad wants out of his djed-wielding; actually being a wizard, one who studies and reveres magic and its lore, holds no interest for him.
Jerkass: Mizahar has plenty of anti-heroic and even villainous characters, but Konrad can be so rude that it's hard not to instantly dislike him.
Knife Nut: Konrad has four blades on him on a normal day. Even his oldest associate Three Eyes didn't know how many he really has.
Lack Of Empathy: One of the reasons that Konrad is so good at killing is that he simply doesn't see people as, well, people. Whatever kinship for his fellow man he ever had was beaten out of him long before he was even a teenager.
Moral Event Horizon: If he didn't cross it before, he damn sure did when he hurled a screaming infant off a building just to psychologically scar a partner who tried to stop him from killing the infant's mother.
Neutral Evil: To the point he even has a link for this alignment in his Character Sheet. Konrad is motivated by his own survival and prosperity, and doesn't care what methods he has to employ to ensure these two things.
Nice Hat: Say what you want about his morals or his actions (if you can stomach learning about them), but you have to admit, that's one damn fine hat.
Obviously Evil: The all-black outfit, the hideous facial scars, the steely gaze and animal rasp... yep, you're not gonna mistake Konrad for a Syliran Knight anytime soon.
Only In It For The Money: If you want Konrad to aid you ("help" would be too strong a word), make it worth his while in hard currency. Offering or appealing to anything else will get your ignored at best, and betrayed at worst, as soon as a better offer comes along.
Playing with Fire: Konrad's primary use of Reimancy is as a weapon, torching his enemies from a distance. Zigzagged in that he is not yet skilled enough to summon djed quickly enough, and relies on his more corporeal combat skills.
Private Military Contractors: Works almost exclusively as a sellsword when he's not slaving, since he's had bad experiences throwing in his lot and loyalty with just one employer. However, given his nature and reputation, more often than not he's at the darker end of this spectrum.
Psycho For Hire: Played with. He is a sociopath, but he's not a blood-crazed berzerker who lives only to fight and kill. Konrad's about the money, and you can't enjoy that if you're dead. That said, his brutality is well-known even in a hive like Sunberth, and his loyalties are purely to the man with the biggest purse.
Rage Against The Heavens: Konrad certainly has a mild case of this. The few insights we've had into his opinions regarding the gods certainly show he doesn't worship any of them and in fact is rather scornful of them. Most likely relating to how petched up his childhood was and how they could allow a place like Sunberth - where such abuse and trauma is a daily occurrence - to even exist.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Goes on a particularly horrific one after his grandfather and cousin are murdered in a robbery, fifteen years in the past. He kills over a dozen people in the aftermath, including a couple who were only tangentially connected to the people responsible, such as the fence who bought his grandmother's stolen goods and the information broker who pointed him in the culprits' direction.
Shout Out: To Bronn, from Game of Thrones. Definitely not as affable as the Westerosi, but easily as ruthless and amoral. Both are pragmatic sellswords who are concerned solely with their own success, and Konrad does occasionally reveal a similar "black sense of humor".
The Sociopath: Played with but very, very narrowly subverted. Konrad sees everyone around him as one of three things: assets to be used (until they're no longer useful), obstacles to be overcome or eliminated, or amusements to be enjoyed in a shallow, momentary manner. Connecting to others on an emotional level is very difficult to him, although it is faintly possible. Problem is, given what he does for a living, what he looks like and how he treats others, hardly anyone ever gets that chance.
Son of a Whore: Subverted - given who and what he is, most people assume this is what Konrad's mother was. In point of fact, she was a fishwife... and a drug addict, but that's beside the point.
Torture Technician: Seems to be one of his skillsets, although he's much more about the "inflicting unholy pain" rather than "extracting important information". Which will probably surprise no-one.
The Unfettered: Goes along with his lack of empathy and sociopathic nature. There is nothing he won't do to get what he wants, as long as he can do it and can get away with it. The morality of his actions never cross his mind.
